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Author: Romo Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno OP

Sanctified

Sanctified

7th Sunday of Easter [B]

May 16, 2021

John 17:11b-19

John chapter 17 is traditionally called Jesus’ prayer as a high priest. This prayer was in the context of the Last Supper and just before His passion and death. Jesus prayed to the Father and interceded for His disciples and all of us who believe in Him. It was a beautiful and powerful prayer.

One interesting subject that Jesus asked from the Father is that Jesus did not plead that the Father took the disciples from the world but rather to protect them from the evil one. We remember that Jesus was soon returning to the Father in the ascension, but Jesus did not want them to follow Him yet. Instead, Jesus then asked the Father to sanctify the disciples in Truth.

To sanctify is to make holy. Often our understanding of being holy is limited to those people who already in heaven. We call them the saints or the holy men and women. Yet, the fundamental meaning of ‘to be holy’ is ‘to be set apart’. In Biblical Hebrew, the word for holy is “Kados”, and it has the same meaning. Therefore, to be sanctified means to be set apart for purposes. For example, holy water is not just ordinary water because it has been blessed and set apart from everyday use like drinking or washing. It is now only for religious purposes.

In His prayer, Jesus was sanctifying His disciples. Jesus was making His disciples holy, and He was setting them apart from this world, for the Truth. Though the disciples were in the world, they no longer belonged to the world. They were consecrated to the Truth that is Jesus Christ Himself [see John 14:6]. The disciples belonged to Jesus. Thus, they remained in the world, not because they enjoyed and attaching themselves to the world, but they were to preach the Truth and bring Jesus.

Jesus’ prayer is not only for His apostles two thousand years ago but for all of us. When we are baptized, we have been set apart from the world and for God. We belong to God. Yet, the same baptism makes us share in the mission of the apostles. We remain in the world because God sent us to bring Christ to more people.

However, the temptation is that we often forget how we are and believe that we are part of the world rather than belong to Christ. We are not only simply in the world, but we become too worldly. We become too attached to the world and busy with many temporal affairs. Indeed, I am not suggesting that we all enter the monasteries or turn to be hermits. We remain in the world as who we are now, as parents, spouses, workers, teachers, students, yet in all of these, we bring Christ. Thus, holy parents do not mean those who pray in the chapel 24/7, but who raise their children with dedication and bring them to Christ. Holy workers are not those who come to workplaces and mediate the whole day, but those who work hard and honestly.

We remember Blessed Carlo Acutis. He loved to go to Mass and pray the rosaries, but He was an ordinary student and a computer geek. He used his passion for the computer to establish a Catholic website to spread the devotion to the Holy Eucharist. If Carlo Acutis can do it, why can’t we?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Dikuduskan

Dikuduskan

Minggu Paskah ke-7 [B]

16 Mei 2021

Yohanes 17: 11b-19

Injil Yohanes bab 17 secara tradisional disebut doa Yesus sebagai imam agung. Doa agung-Nya ini terjadi dalam konteks Perjamuan Terakhir, dan tepat sebelum sengsara dan kematian-Nya. Di sini, Yesus berdoa kepada Bapa, dan menjadi perantara bagi para murid-Nya serta bagi kita semua yang percaya kepada-Nya. Sebuah doa yang sangat indah.

Satu hal menarik yang Yesus minta dari Bapa adalah bahwa Yesus tidak memohon agar Bapa mengambil murid-murid dari dunia, tetapi untuk melindungi mereka dari si jahat. Kita ingat bahwa Yesus segera kembali kepada Bapa dalam kenaikan-Nya, tetapi Yesus belum ingin para rasul mengikuti-Nya. Sebaliknya, Yesus kemudian meminta Bapa untuk menguduskan murid-muridnya dengan kebenaran.

Menguduskan berarti menjadikan kudus atau suci. Seringkali, pemahaman kita tentang kekudusan atau kesucian terbatas pada orang-orang yang sudah di surga. Kita menyebut mereka orang-orang kudus atau santo dan santa. Namun, arti fundamental dari ‘menjadi kudus’ adalah ‘dipisahkan’ atau ‘dikhususkan’. Dalam Bahasa Ibrani, kata untuk kudus adalah “Kados” dan memiliki arti yang sama. Oleh karena itu, dikuduskan berarti dikhususkan untuk tujuan tertentu. Seperti misalnya air suci, bukan lagi air biasa karena telah diberkati dan dipisahkan dari penggunaan biasa seperti minum atau kumur, dan sekarang dikhususkan untuk keperluan keagamaan.

Dalam doa-Nya, Yesus menguduskan murid-murid-Nya. Yesus menjadikan murid-Nya kudus, dan ini berarti, Yesus memisahkan mereka dari dunia ini, bagi kebenaran. Meskipun para murid ada di dunia, mereka bukan lagi milik dunia. Mereka dikuduskan pada kebenaran yaitu Yesus Kristus sendiri [lihat Yohanes 14: 6]. Murid-murid ini sekarang milik Yesus. Jadi, mereka tetap di dunia, bukan karena mereka menikmati dan melekatkan diri mereka pada dunia, tetapi mereka diutus memberitakan Kebenaran dan membawa Yesus.

Doa Yesus tidak hanya untuk para rasul-Nya dua ribu tahun yang lalu, tetapi untuk kita semua. Ketika kita dibaptis, kita telah dipisahkan dari dunia, dan dikhususkan bagi Tuhan. Kita adalah milik Tuhan. Namun, baptisan yang sama membuat kita ikut serta dalam misi para rasul. Kita tetap di dunia karena Tuhan mengutus kita untuk membawa Kristus kepada lebih banyak orang.

Namun, godaannya adalah kita sering lupa siapa kita sebenarnya, dan mulai percaya bahwa kita adalah bagian dari dunia, bukan milik Kristus. Kita tidak hanya di dunia ini, tapi kita menjadi terlalu duniawi. Kita menjadi terlalu terikat dengan dunia, dan sibuk dengan banyak urusan duniawi. Tentu saja, saya tidak menyarankan agar kita semua memasuki biara atau beralih menjadi pertapa. Kita tetap di dunia seperti kita sekarang, sebagai orang tua, suami-istri, pekerja, guru, siswa, namun dalam semua ini, kita membawa Kristus. Jadi, orang tua yang kudus bukan berarti mereka yang berdoa di kapel 24 jam, tetapi yang membesarkan anak-anak mereka dengan dedikasi dan membawa mereka kepada Kristus. Pekerja suci bukanlah mereka yang datang ke tempat kerja dan kemudian bertapa sepanjang hari, tetapi mereka yang bekerja keras dan jujur.

Kita ingat Beato Carlo Acutis. Dia senang pergi ke Misa dan berdoa rosario, tetapi dia adalah siswa biasa dan pencinta komputer. Dia menggunakan kecintaannya pada komputer untuk membangun situs web Katolik untuk menyebarkan devosi kepada Ekaristi Kudus. Jika Carlo Acutis bisa melakukannya, mengapa kita tidak?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

To Love the Law

To Love the Law

6th Sunday of Easter [B]

May 9, 2021

John 15:9-17

Jesus gave His disciples the new commandment: to love one another as Jesus has loved them. The question may be raised: why another law? The Bible possesses a lot of laws and regulations. In the Old Testament alone, they are hundreds of regulations that are still effective for the Jews until now. The Church also has many laws concerning different aspects of Christian people from how to properly participate in the Eucharist to how to elect a pope. Aside from the Bible and the Church, we have many other laws to follow.

No wonder that often we see laws and regulations as burdens on our shoulder and restrictions to our freedom. For some, obedience to the law is sign of weakness, and breaking the rules is an achievement. However, if we investigate a bigger perspective and delve into the purpose of law, we shall discover that laws are not horrendous as it may seem. At least, there are three purposes of law.

Firstly, the law helps us to grow. The commandments may be restrictive, but they form and educate us. Just try to imagine that in a soccer game, there is no regulation on ‘hand ball’. Consequently, players will not only touch the ball, but keep it to themselves. It ceases to be a soccer game! With this simple and basic rule, players are ‘forced’ to use their feet to control the ball. This pushes players to train hard to master the skills, and hopefully turn to be world-class players. As children, we are trained to be punctual by following schedule, both in homes and schools. This simple rule does not mean to restrict our children, but to teach a disciple as well as to learn the value of time.

Secondly, the law saves us. The commandments may limit our movements, but they are for our safety. Just try to imagine that in a soccer game, a hard tackle is not a violation. Players will start punching and kicking one another, and it’s a matter of seconds before a riot begins. It ceases to be a soccer game! With this rule, players will be mindful of the harm they can cause, and yet, they can continue enjoying the game because no one is injured or hurt.

These two elements of law are also present in the commandment of love. The law of love forms us to be more loving persons. The real love is tough, even to love someone who are dear to us. It is hard to forgive, even our close friends. it is difficult to make daily sacrifices for our children and family members. It is not easy to be patient with people we serve in the community or the Church. Yet, if we choose to keep the commandment, we grow to be a more loving person. Love turns to be our second nature and we love spontaneously. If God is love, then we become God-like each day.

The law of love saves us. St. John of the Cross once said, “in the twilight of our lives, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human successes, but on how well we have loved.” Heaven is where the perfect love is, and to achieve that perfection, we need to build it gradually here on earth. The more we obey the commandment, the more loving we are, the more the heaven opens for us. Love saves us for the eternal bliss.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Mengerti Hukum Kasih

Mengerti Hukum Kasih

Minggu Paskah ke-6 [B]

9 Mei 2021

Yohanes 15: 9-17

Yesus memberi para murid-Nya perintah baru: untuk saling mengasihi seperti Yesus telah mengasihi mereka. Pertanyaan yang mungkin muncul: mengapa perlu ada hukum baru? Alkitab memiliki banyak hukum dan peraturan. Dalam Perjanjian Lama saja, ada ratusan peraturan yang masih berlaku untuk orang Yahudi sampai sekarang. Gereja juga memiliki banyak hukum tentang berbagai aspek dari kehidupan Kristiani mulai dari bagaimana berpartisipasi dengan benar dalam Ekaristi hingga bagaimana memilih seorang paus. Selain Alkitab dan Gereja, kita memiliki banyak hukum lain di dalam hidup bermasyarakat dan bernegara.

Tidak heran jika seringkali kita melihat hukum dan peraturan sebagai beban di pundak kita dan pembatasan kebebasan kita. Bahkan bagi sebagian orang, ketaatan pada hukum adalah tanda kelemahan, dan melanggar aturan adalah prestasi. Namun, jika kita menyelidiki perspektif yang lebih besar dan tujuan hukum, kita akan menemukan bahwa hukum tidak mengekang seperti yang dirasakan. Setidaknya, ada dua tujuan hukum.

Pertama, hukum memiliki unsur edukatif. Perintah-perintah itu mungkin membatasi, tetapi itu membentuk dan mendidik kita. Coba bayangkan, dalam pertandingan sepak bola tidak ada aturan tentang ‘hand ball’. Akibatnya, pemain tidak hanya akan menyentuh bola seenaknya, tetapi juga menyimpannya mereka bawa pulang. Ini tidak lagi menjadi permainan sepak bola! Dengan aturan sederhana dan mendasar ini, pemain ‘dipaksa’ menggunakan kakinya untuk mengontrol bola. Hal ini mendorong pemain untuk berlatih keras untuk menguasai skill tersebut, dan harapannya tentu, bisa menjadi pemain kelas dunia. Sebagai anak-anak, kita dilatih untuk tepat waktu dengan mengikuti jadwal, baik di rumah maupun di sekolah. Aturan sederhana ini tidak berarti membatasi anak-anak kita, tetapi untuk mengajar seorang anak akan pentingnya nilai sebuah waktu.

Kedua, hukum menyelamatkan kita. Hukum mungkin membatasi pergerakan kita, tetapi hal ini ada untuk keamanan dan kenyamanan kita. Coba bayangkan bahwa dalam pertandingan sepak bola, tekel keras dan kontak fisik membahayakan bukanlah pelanggaran. Pemain akan saling mulai meninju, dan beberapa detik kemudian akan menjadi tauran. Ini tidak lagi menjadi permainan sepak bola! Dengan aturan ini, pemain akan memperhatikan cedera yang dapat mereka timbulkan, namun mereka dapat terus menikmati permainan karena tidak ada yang cedera atau terluka.

Kedua elemen hukum ini juga ada dalam perintah kasih. Hukum kasih membentuk kita menjadi orang yang lebih mengasihi. Kasih sejati itu sulit, bahkan untuk mengasihi orang-orang yang kita sayangi. Sulit untuk memaafkan, bahkan teman dekat kita. Tidak mudah untuk membuat pengorbanan setiap hari untuk anak-anak dan anggota keluarga kita. Tidak mudah bersabar dengan orang-orang yang kita layani di komunitas atau Gereja. Namun, jika kita memilih untuk mematuhi perintah, kita tumbuh menjadi orang yang lebih pengasih. Kasih berubah menjadi kebiasaan dan keutamaan kita dan kita mengasihi secara spontan. Jika Tuhan itu kasih, kita menjadi seperti Tuhan setiap hari.

Hukum kisah menyelamatkan kita. Santo Yohanes dari Salib pernah berkata, “di masa senja hidup kita, Tuhan tidak akan menghakimi kita atas harta benda duniawi dan keberhasilan manusia, tetapi pada seberapa baik kita telah mencintai.” Surga adalah tempat kasih yang sempurna, dan untuk mencapai kesempurnaan itu, kita perlu membangunnya secara bertahap di bumi ini. Semakin kita mematuhi perintah, semakin mengasihi, semakin surga terbuka bagi kita. Cinta kasih menyelamatkan kita untuk kebahagiaan abadi.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Three Ways to Remain in Christ

Three Ways to Remain in Christ

Three Ways to Remain in Christ

Fifth Sunday of Easter [B]
May 2, 2021
John 15:1-8

Jesus said, “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me [John 15:4].” To remain in Jesus is not just an option but a necessity to bear fruits of eternal life.

The question is how we are going to remain in Jesus? We can do at least three ways. Firstly, we need to remain in His Word. Jesus said, “You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. [John 15:3].” How can we remain in Jesus if we do not know Him? How can we know Him if we do not read His stories and teachings in the Bible? That is why St. Jerome famously said, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” Often, we, Catholics, are accused of not reading the Bible enough. While the accusation might be false, the invitation to read and reflect on the Bible remains true. Reading Scripture may be challenging, but it has its precious rewards.

Secondly, we remain in Him through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him [John 6:56].” We face a difficult time because of the pandemic, and many people are deprived of the Holy communion. None can replace the sacramental union with Christ in the Eucharist. As a priest, I am saddened by the situation, but at the same time, I am glad because ‘absence makes the heart grows fonder.’ Often, I see some of the faithful shed their tears when they receive the Body of Christ after a long absence. The pandemic forces us to reflect more profound on the meaning of the Eucharist in our lives. Sometimes, we need to learn from the saints. Bl. Alexandrina da Costa of Portugal consumed nothing but the Holy Eucharist for 13 years until her death. The bread of life truly nourishes the soul, and when the soul is healthy, the body will manifest this vigour.

Thirdly, we remain in Christ by staying in the Church. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches, and because of one vine, all the branches are closely interconnected. One branch does not live for the sake of itself but the entire plant. One healthy branch can contribute to the wellbeing of the whole ecosystem, and at the same time, another branch may require more nutrients and support from other parts of the plant. This is why I will encourage people to be part of a community and be active in the local Church. The Church has extremely diverse communities within her. There are groups based on age. There are communities based on spiritual traditions and devotions. While it is true that being part of a community may be difficult sometimes, it also provides the opportunity to grow and love.

These are three ways that we may remain in Jesus, and Jesus remains in us. We continue to grow and bear fruits for the glory of God.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

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